Six Crimson Seeds (A VegasPete Persephone AU)

Chapter 16: Vegas's Choice

    Soon, the humble home was filled with so much noise Vegas felt itchy and overstimulated. Yai had taken a moment to watch Kinn carefully as he entered her home, remembering what he had taken from her the last time he had been there. Then Pete had introduced Kinn warmly and Yai had shaken his hand, accepting that he was not his father.

Vegas glanced out the window, looking at the small, unassuming shed where he had his first kiss, and needed to be away from all the commotion. Without excusing himself, he slipped outside, unnoticed by everyone except Pete, who was too busy hosting to follow. Vegas reached up and grabbed a pomegranate off the tree in the yard before walking over to the dilapidated shed. He opened the door slowly and felt as if he could almost see himself and Pete, small and innocent, curled close together to hide from Kinn while they played.

Vegas smiled as he shut the door on that memory in search of another. As he walked further, he found the small section of beach Kinn had played at before. He stared out over the water for a few minutes, just eating the pomegranate and enjoying the breeze.

"It's so noisy in there," came a voice on his left.

"Yeah," Vegas said to Porsche. "I'm not a huge fan of crowds."

Porsche nodded seriously and closed his eyes, spreading his arms wide as if to embrace the waves.

"I love the water. It calls to me."

Vegas cocked his head to the side. No way.

Before he could ask, Porsche tugged his shirt over his head as he kicked his Converse off clumsily. Sliding his jeans off, Porsche rushed into the water in his boxers. His movements were quick, but Vegas was still able to catch the dark blue trident on Porsche's shoulder.

"Holy shit," Vegas muttered, doubling down on his desire to have Porsche move to Elysium. If Kan was able to secure two of the three so-called "big ones", then maybe he would finally be proud of Vegas. And if Porsche came, then his brother would likely join, if he could be pried away from his idol. But Kim was at Elysium often enough, so it was possible.

Vegas discarded the rest of his fruit and rinsed his hands in the water. He only had a few months until he would be gone again. During that time he would have no access to Porsche, so he needed to try and plant the seeds by the end of the summer. Then, while he was gone, he could try and come up with a surefire way to convince Porsche once and for all. It had to work.

Vegas told himself again, more forcefully, that he didn't have time for distractions. He had to make sure Macau was taken care of. He had to do whatever he could to help his family before he was no longer around. Maybe Pete's Yai was right. Maybe he should stop before he hurt Pete even more.

The peace and quiet didn't last long, as everyone came pouring out of the house to rush to the beach. As they got close most of them threw off their outer garments to jump into the water. The guards had been left with the vehicles back at the house, giving the group privacy while they had their fun. Vegas drifted off again, this time into the shadows of the distantly familiar wooded area. It was quieter there, almost contained. Soon, he came to the spot where he had first spied Pete, all those years ago. No matter how much he tried to avoid thinking about him, Vegas knew he could never escape Pete. Still, it was better to suffer alone than to drag Pete into it. Vegas sat on the moss as he wallowed, reaching a hand over to trace in the dirt, as young Pete had done.

"Vegas?"

Vegas glanced up to see Pete watching him with a strange look on his face.

"What are you doing here? Not many people know about this spot."